Glass Halos
by Cybra
Summary: A thought piece from T-Bone's POV about the downside of being a vigilante.


Glass Halos

By Cybra AKA Worthy

A/N: I'm going to make this short. A friend of mine (pen named "Vyse") told me what a glass halo was and I suddenly got this idea in my head. Thanks, Vyse! Also, I thought I'd do this from T-Bone's POV to prove that the big tabby _is_ intelligent. You may continue reading now.

Disclaimer: I don't own SWAT Kats, but the idea of this story is _mine._ Do we understand each other? J

You'd think that we lead a pretty good life from the way we smile on camera. It's always a big victory and the wonderful affects of adrenaline coursing through your veins.

Guess what, it's not all fun and games.

Underneath it all, there are days when even _I_ just want to cry until there aren't any tears left in the world.

Yeah, me. Big, tough, brave T-Bone.

Kinda shockin', huh?

I mean, I absolutely love soaring above the skies in the TurboKat (Razor's "masterpiece", as he calls her). I also feel just plain fantastic when we save the city and all the innocent bystanders in it.

Yet, I also feel guilt afterwards.

I guess Razor brought them out of me: the second thoughts that I have sometimes.

I really, _really_ don't like having second thoughts about what I'm doing.

You see, I can't help thinking sometimes about the innocent kats we could've harmed by accident. Saving the city sometimes doesn't justify that small detail one little bit.

Unlike whoever said it, the end _does not_ always justify the means.

How many kats have ended up in the hospital thanks to us?

I've heard about these things called "glass halos". Basically, they're people who smile easily, but underneath it all, are hiding some sort of secret pain.

I had blinked when I'd heard about them. I mean, they were practically describing Razor and I.

We smile easily for the cameras, even after a long and difficult fight, but there are days when we don't want to smile at all.

Like last week when we were chasing Dark Kat.

The battle was textbook, really. I mean, he decides on his newest plot to take over the city and puts it into action. Razor and I snap into action and engage him in a fight over what looks like an uninhabited area. After Razor locks in on Big Purple, he fires and takes out the guy's ship. A few stray missiles hit or graze trees, but no real damage is inflicted…to _property._

Kats alive, some of those stray missiles barely missed the _kittens_ below us.

We didn't really know about this. I mean, we knew that they were building a school in that area, but we didn't know that it was open at the time. Apparently, it was some sort of "getting to know you" thing the school was having, but didn't announce.

The worst injuries were some minor cuts and bruises…

…but it scared the absolute crud out of the both of us.

One of Razor's unarmed missiles had come within _two feet_ of a group of three year-olds. If they'd been about seven inches further to their right, a Slicer Missile would've impaled one of them.

I was shaken up pretty badly. I mean, we had not come that close to hurting innocent _kittens_ before. Adults seem to deal with this sort of thing more easily than kittens do, but we usually worry about them, too.

But kittens…

Razor took it just as badly as I did, if not worse. He'd been the one who had suggested we try to take out Dark Kat over that open area and who'd fired the shots.

After the fight, we tactfully avoided Ann Gora so we wouldn't have to answer her questions. We'd already heard on the news what had been below us and didn't need her asking about that.

I can still feel those tears running down my cheeks. I mean, I'm not the type of guy who cries, but when something like this happens, even _I_ cry.

I remember glancing in the mirror to look at Razor. He'd put his face in his paws and leaned over slightly. His body was shaking, but he didn't utter a sound.

It's days like that day that make me want to hang up the G-suit, bury the TurboKat, and just try to pay off our huge debt to the Enforcers.

Yet, it's also days like that day that make me realize how much I _want_ to do this. I _want_ to fight the crime of this city in order to help save it. I _want_ to make sure that no more innocents – adults or kittens – will be harmed.

However, I also know the cost of leading this type of life: You have to live with the painful "what ifs". "What if I'd done this?" Or "What if this person had been over here?" What if, what if, what if!

Still, both Razor and I have silently agreed to keep that away from the public. They have enough to worry about.

So, we'll be the city's vigilante glass halos.

We'll smile for the camera and give a cheerful wave if given the opportunity.

We'll never show the pain that comes with the job.


End file.
